Boat dolly



y 1962 w. G. DUNN 3,036,841

BOAT DOLLY Filed Sept. 12, 1960 INVENTOR. 9 WILLIAM G. DUNN United States Patent 3,036,841 BOAT DOLLY William G. Dunn, 301 W. Garfield, Clarinda, Iowa Filed Sept. 12, 1960, Ser. No. 55,555 2 Claims. (Cl. 280-4713) A further object of the invention is to provide a dolly A of the above class which is rugged in construction, effective in operation, and which is constructed from a minimum number of parts at low cost.

The invention consists of a dolly having two wheels which are axially aligned on separate axles. Pairs of legs are pivotally mounted on the ends of each axle for pivotal movement relative to each other. Horizontally disposed angle bars connect one leg of each pair of legs to rigidly locate the relationship of the two axles. The angle bars are adapted to grippingly engage against opposite sides of a boat transom. Hand operated screw means are dis posed between the pairs of legs to open and close the angle bars about the transom.

A full understanding of the construction of this invention, together with further novel features and advantages, will he had from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the dolly assembly shown clamped to the transom of an upturned boat.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the dolly taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the numeral 5 represents the hull of a small boat having a central projecting keel 6 and a transom 7 disposed at the rear end of the boat. The open edge of the transom 7 provides the bearing surface to which the dolly may be secured.

The dolly comprises two wheels 9 having tires 8 and separate axle shafts 10 each supported at their outer extremities by two pairs of legs 11. Each leg 11 comprises an upper vertical portion 12 and a lower portion 13 extending at an angle from the lower end of the upper portion. A hole is formed to rotatably receive the shaft 10 at the lower extremity of the portion 13. Two legs 11 are mounted on each end of the shaft such that their upper portions may be disposed in a parallel spaced apart relationship and are angularly displaceable relative to each other about the axle shaft 10. Axle nuts 14 retain the legs on each end of the shaft. The four legs 11 depending from each axle shaft 10 terminate in rigid engagement to the inner sides of two horizontally extending and opposed angle bars 15. The angle bars have one side 16 disposed horizontally along the top of the upper leg portions 12 and a second side 17 disposed along the inwardly directed sides 18 of the respective opposed leg portions. In this manner the two wheels are rigidly connected in a fixed relation relative to each other by the two angle bars which are spaced parallel to each other according to the angular separation of the pairs of legs.

The spacing between the angle bars is controlled by a threaded hand screw 21 which extends horizontally between the pairs of legs on each wheel. Connecting plates 19 and 20 spam horizontally between the lower portion of the outer edges 24 of the vertical portions 12 of the legs, and are provided with central holes adapted to receive the hand screw 21 therethrough. The hand screw is provided at one end with diametrically opposed crank levers 22 adapted to rotate the screw in either direction. A sleeve 23 rigidly mounted adjacent the crank levers provides a thrust bearing surface about the hole formed in the connecting plate 19. A threaded nut 25 is locked on the outer surface of the plate 2.0 in alignment with the hole formed therein to provide a threaded engagement with the hand screw 21. Slidably received over the threaded portion of the hand screw 21 and disposed for engagement between the inner surfaces of the opposed connecting plates 19 is a compression spring 26 adapted to urge the plates, connected legs 11, and angle bars 15 apart from each other in opposition to the closing action provided by the threaded hand screw 21.

In operation, the upturned boat is raised slightly at the transom end such that the angle bars 15 can be positioned on either side of the transom. The two hand screws are now turned by means of the cranked levers 22 to close and tighten the two bars against opposing sides of the transom. The bow of the host may now be lifted and the boat may be simply wheeled to the desired location for storage or use.

The manipulation of a boat on land has hitherto been a cumbersome and arduous operation. By my invention, I have provided means whereby the boat can be simply moved by one person with comparative ease.

Having described the invention in a preferred form, it will be appreciated that some modifications may be made to the precise configuration, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

-I claim:

1. A dolly for transporting a boat having a transom at one end, and comprising, two wheels mounted on separate aligned axles, pairs of legs depending from each end of each of the axles and adapted to pivot about the same with respect to each other, one leg of each pair sloping forwardly and the remaining leg of each pair sloping rearwardly, a bar connecting all the forwardly sloping legs in alignment with each other, a second bar connecting all the rearwardly sloping legs in alignment with each other, said bars adapted to grippingly engage on on posite sides of the boat transom, and means for selectively moving said bars into and out of engagement with the transom.

2. A dolly for transporting a boat according to claim 1 wherein said means comprises hand operated screw means disposed intermediate the pairs of legs on each axle and extending transversely of the axles in a vertically spaced relationship, said screw means cooperating between the forwardly and rearwardly aligned legs of each axle to selectively open and close the same about the axles and cause the bars to grippingly engage about the said opposite sides of the boat transom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 39,414 Mersereau Aug. 4, 1863 2,019,789 Mahannah Nov. 5, 1935 2,548,274 Van Oeveren Apr. 10, 1951 2,624,591 Choplin Jan. 6, 1952 2,679,130 Bennett et al May 25, 1954 2,915,096 Mooney Dec. 1, 1959 2,953,387 Portner Sept. 20, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 885,209 Germany Aug. 3, 1953 151,047 Great Britain Sept. 13, 1920 

